Two named to Indian Hills board

One of the organizers of the recall effort that toppled the majority of the Indian Hills General Improvement District board has been named to the panel.

Rhonda Pascoe, a former district employee and one of five people who filed the paperwork starting the recall, was one of two people named to the board on Tuesday night.

Dianne Humble-Fournier of Sunridge was also named to the board.

This was Humble-Fournier's second try at the board. She applied for the seat resigned by Richard Fairfax after he became a target of a recall petition. She was one of two candidates that trustees deadlocked on.

Douglas County commissioners stepped in and selected a third candidate, Dan Hall.

Humble-Fournier has lived in Sunridge for a year after moving up from Southern California. However, she is no stranger to the area. She lived in Stateline and her sister lived in Indian Hills for more than 20 years a decade ago.

"I wasn't really looking to do anything politically, I just wanted to get involved," she said. "Now I find myself involved in something that is a little political."

Humble-Fournier said she will be running for office in November. In order to get on the ballot, she and Hall will have to pass around a petition, according to Douglas County Clerk Barbara Reed. Both terms will be two years.

Pascoe is already on the ballot and, if elected, will serve a full four-year term. She couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

Humble-Fournier said she believes the present board members will work well together.

"We had a very successful night," she said of Tuesday's board meeting. "We were able to strike some things that didn't make sense that had been passed and pass some things that were long overdue."

The board discussed hiring an architect to design the community center, which sparked this year's recall election.

"It's going up for vote for the people," Humble-Fournier said. "If they decide they want the community center, then we should be prepared to move forward with getting a grant."

A community center with office space has been in the planning stage for more than two years.

Cost estimates for the 10,346-square-foot building near James Lee Park had totaled more than $1.4 million. District leaders had sought backing for a community development block grant for $395,000 from county commissioners, but that request was withdrawn.

Board members Steve Weaver and Ron Kruse had voted in favor of the community center, while Joanne Riekenberg, Fairfax and Renee Haskell voted against.

Out of 1,137 surveys sent out to district residents, 198, or 17.4 percent, were returned. Haskell and Riekenberg said they believe the 17 percent return was not a valid sampling of Indian Hills residents.